What Research Says About AI Tutoring
November 8, 2024
AI tutoring tools are being heavily promoted to schools, often with bold promises of “personalised learning” and rapid progress. This briefing cuts through the marketing to summarise what robust research actually shows about AI tutoring: typical learning gains, which subjects and age groups benefit most, and where equity concerns are emerging. Drawing on case studies of Khan Academy’s Khanmigo, Duolingo’s AI features and large-scale efficacy trials, it outlines the implementation conditions that matter in real schools and offers a practical decision guide for leaders considering when, where and how to deploy AI tutoring.
Claude Computer Use in Schools
November 4, 2024
Anthropic’s new Claude Computer Use feature turns Claude from a chat assistant into an “agent” that can click, type and navigate on your computer. For schools, this opens powerful possibilities – and serious risks – if treated as a student toy rather than a staff tool. This playbook explores how teachers and leaders can use Claude as a safe “school systems assistant” for admin, resource curation and audits, while putting in place clear guardrails, policies and human sign-off to avoid data leaks, safeguarding issues and over-automation.
Report Writing Season Survival Guide
November 1, 2024
Report-writing season does not have to mean late nights, rushed comments and exhausted staff. Used well, AI can slot into your existing reporting process and quietly remove hours of admin, without lowering standards or losing pupil voice. This practical, two-week playbook walks teachers and school leaders step by step through low-friction, policy-safe workflows – from gathering assessment evidence to drafting comments, checking tone and supporting parent communication – while keeping professional judgement and safeguarding firmly in charge.
Redefining Originality: Assessment in 2024
September 25, 2024
As generative AI becomes a normal part of students’ lives, traditional ideas of “original work” are under pressure. Instead of trying to catch AI-assisted cheating, teachers can redesign assessments so that authentic process, personal voice and contextualised evidence matter more than the final product. This article offers a practical playbook for reworking existing tasks into “originality by design” assessments, with concrete examples, rubrics and classroom routines. You will find strategies that make AI a transparent, bounded part of learning, rather than something to fear or detect.
Explaining AI to Parents
September 24, 2024
As schools adopt AI tools, parents are asking understandable questions about safety, learning and the future of teaching. This practical guide offers a ready-to-use script bank to help you explain AI in clear, calm language that works across cultures and languages. You will find FAQ-style talking points, adaptable email and newsletter templates, and phrases that align with existing AI, safeguarding and data policies. Use it to support consistent messages across your website, parent meetings and everyday conversations, while building trust and partnership with families.
Teaching Source Evaluation in the AI Era
September 17, 2024
Source evaluation has never been more important – or more complicated. With AI tools generating plausible text, images and data in seconds, students now work in a world where “the source” might be a chatbot, a website, a PDF, a video or a social media post. This playbook offers practical routines, checklists and mini-lessons to help students evaluate AI-generated information alongside traditional sources, treating AI tools as sources to be questioned, compared and cited, not oracles to be believed.
OpenAI o1: reasoning models for teachers
September 13, 2024
OpenAI’s new o1 (Strawberry) model is the first “reasoning‑first” AI many teachers will encounter. It does not just answer quickly; it works through problems step by step, using deliberate chains of thought and tools along the way. This article explains what that actually looks like in practice, how it differs from GPT‑4o, and what it means for everyday classroom and assessment workflows. You will find concrete examples for modelling reasoning, generating worked solutions and supporting marking, alongside clear guidance on exams, academic integrity and practical rollout in schools.
Microsoft Copilot in Schools
September 3, 2024
Microsoft Copilot is now freely available on the web, without the need for Microsoft 365 licences or a technical rollout. Used well, it can save teachers time, support planning and differentiation, and give pupils a safe way to practise AI skills. This step‑by‑step playbook focuses on the completely free browser version, with concrete, low‑risk workflows you can use from day one. It also sets out clear guardrails around privacy, safeguarding, copyright and exams, so schools can move forward with confidence.
State of AI in UK Education: Sept 2024
September 2, 2024
As the new term begins, UK school and college leaders face a wave of guidance, commentary and concern about artificial intelligence. This briefing distils the latest DfE advice, Ofsted signals and union positions into clear, practical decisions for September 2024. It focuses on what is mandatory versus advisable, how to demonstrate ‘responsible AI’ during inspections, and how to align staff workload, safeguarding and curriculum planning with sometimes conflicting messages. Designed as a pragmatic, term-start guide, it helps leaders move from anxiety to action.
Future-Proofing Students: Skills AI Can't Replace
August 19, 2024
As AI tools become part of the everyday school timetable, the real challenge is no longer whether pupils can use them, but whether they can stay meaningfully human alongside them. This playbook offers practical, lesson-level routines that deliberately pair AI workflows with “human-only” thinking, so critical thinking, creativity and empathy are strengthened rather than sidelined. With examples for primary and secondary classrooms, guidance on curriculum and assessment, and a six-week starter plan, it helps schools future‑proof students’ uniquely human strengths instead of simply bolting character education onto technology use.
Google Gemini 1.5 Pro: Million‑Token Context
August 14, 2024
Google Gemini 1.5 Pro’s million‑token context window makes it possible to work with entire textbooks, course packs and reading lists in a single conversation. This playbook walks teachers step‑by‑step through safe, copyright‑aware workflows: from choosing and preparing files, to practical prompt patterns for syllabus mapping, gap analysis, differentiation and assessment design. It also sets out clear guardrails for data protection, verification and avoiding ‘black box’ teaching, so you stay firmly in control of curriculum and pedagogy.
Back to School AI Toolkit 2024
August 9, 2024
This practical back-to-school AI toolkit for 2024 gives teachers a curated list of genuinely free, low-friction tools you can set up in under 15 minutes. Organised by everyday tasks like planning, differentiation, communication, behaviour and admin, it focuses on tools that respect safety and privacy. You will find concrete classroom examples, clear “what to avoid” notes, and guidance on how to introduce AI gradually without overwhelming yourself. It is ideal for educators at any technical level who want to save time while staying in control of data and professional judgement.
Copyright and AI in Schools
August 7, 2024
AI tools have made it incredibly easy for teachers and students to copy, remix and share text, images and music in seconds – but copyright law has not suddenly disappeared. This practical playbook walks through everyday AI workflows in schools and shows where real legal and ethical risks arise, from copy‑pasting AI outputs to uploading pupil work. You will find simple risk tiers, plain‑language concepts, and concrete classroom rules, plus ready‑to‑adapt policy and consent wording. The aim is not to turn every teacher into a lawyer, but to build confident “copyright hygiene” habits that keep your school, staff and students safer.
SearchGPT vs Google for student research
August 5, 2024
OpenAI’s new SearchGPT promises faster, more focused answers than traditional web search – but what does that mean for school research? This practical guide walks students through a full research workflow, from first background scan to final bibliography, showing when to use SearchGPT and when Google (or other search engines) still works best. With concrete example queries, ethical guardrails, and citation workflows, it is designed as a student‑friendly playbook that teachers can share or adapt. The focus is on safe, critical and policy‑aligned use of AI.
When AI Helps vs When It Harms Learning
August 2, 2024
As AI tools become part of everyday school life, the real challenge is no longer “AI: yes or no?” but “AI: when and how?”. This article offers a developmental, research-based framework to help schools decide when AI should act as a scaffold and when it risks becoming a shortcut. With concrete, age-banded classroom rules from early primary to post-16, it focuses on protecting productive struggle, metacognition and deep work, while still harnessing AI’s potential to personalise, explain and extend learning.